March 5th, 2022Great day at Woodend

WOODEND Hanging Rock Petanque Club and Woodend Pony Club are again running a great day for the family at the old Woodend Racecourse in Forest Street, showcasing a wide range of fabulous activities and products available in and around Woodend.
This is the second year the event has been run, last year was a great success until the torrential rain, came forcing an early closure. The day will be even better this year as we have booked great weather, claimed a spokesman for the Petanque Club.
The Woodend Discovery Day is the result of much planning by the club, working with the Pony Club, their joint occupants of the old Woodend Racecourse. Their aim is to promote a wide range of lesser-known benefits and products available for residents and visitors to Woodend and surrounding areas in the Macedon Ranges.

Whilst mainstream sports are well represented in Woodend with some outstanding clubs, little is heard of petanque, despite it being a great game well suited to a wide range of people. Nor are the range of activities run by the Pony Club widely known. Surprisingly, many people have not discovered some of the wonderful smaller vineyards, boutique distilleries and cideries operating close to Woodend.
The Discovery Day will show everybody just how wonderful these features are. There will be a Petanque Tournament running for spectators interested to discover just how skilful this strange sport with its French origins is, and the club is offering everybody to ‘Give it a Toss’ and try out the game for themselves, helped by some of the club’s skilled players. It’s great fun tossing the steel balls through the air and it’s suitable for all ages and fitness levels.
The Pony Club will have an exhilarating show happening which will be very interesting for all ages and there’s great stuff for the children with the opportunity to ride a pony and play with the animals from the Mobile Farm. Come on parents, we bet you can still remember the excitement of all this, so bring your kids and re-discover your childhood.
Woodend Men’s Shed will have a stand demonstrating their skills and offering some of their wonderful items for sale, you’ll be amazed at what these ‘old guys’ are producing.
Discover fantastic wines from some of the area’s best small vineyards, some unusual and really exciting products from the local boutique gin distiller, craft beers and ciders from local producers plus some wonderful food to enjoy at very reasonable prices. We’ve even secured the best coffee van in the state. While all this is happening you can listen to fabulous music from Big Horn & the 6 String Bandits, one of the area’s best bands.
We want everybody to come and have fun whilst discovering a little more about wonderful Woodend. So get along to the old racecourse on Sunday, March 13 from11am till 4pm and be part of the fun. It’s not expensive at only $5 a person or $10 for families and there’s plenty of free parking. You’ll have a great day discovering some fantastic and lesser-known aspects of Woodend.
Words & image: contributed